What Buddhists Believe Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera

What Buddhists Believe
Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera

How to Save Yourself

Oneself, indeed, is one's savior, for what other savior would there be? 

With oneself well controlled the problem of looking for external savior is solved, -- (Dhammapada 166)

As the Buddha was about to pass away, His disciples came from everywhere to be near Him. While the other disciples were constantly at His side and in deep sorrow over the expected loss of their Master, a monk named Attadatta went into his cell and practised meditation. The other monks, thinking that he was unconcerned about the welfare of the Buddha, were upset and reported the matter to Him. The monk, however, addressed the Buddha thus, 'Lord as the Blessed One would be passing away soon, I thought the best way to honour the Blessed One would be by attaining Arahantship during the lifetime of the Blessed One itself.' The Buddha was pleased by his attitude and his conduct and said that one's spiritual welfare should not be abandoned for the sake of others.

In this story is illustrated one of the most important aspects of Buddhism. A person must constantly be on the alert to seek his own deliverance from Samsara, and his 'salvation' must be brought about by the individual himself. He cannot look to any external force or agency to help him to attain Nibbana.

People who do not understand Buddhism criticize this concept and say that Buddhism is a selfish religion which only talks about the concern for one's own freedom from pain and sorrow. This is not true at all. 

The Buddha states clearly that one should work ceaselessly for the spiritual and material welfare of all beings, while at the same time diligently pursuing one's own goal of attaining Nibbana. Selfless service is highly commended by the Buddha.

Again, people who do not understand Buddhism may ask, 'It may be all right for the fortunate human beings, in full command of their mental powers, to seek Nibbana by their own efforts. But what about those who are mentally and physically or even materially handicapped? How can they be self-reliant? Do they not need the help of some external force, some god or deva to assist them?

The answer to this is that Buddhists do not believe that the final release must necessarily take place in one life time. The process can take a long time, over the period of many births. 

One has to apply oneself, to the best of one's ability, and slowly develop the powers of self reliance.  

Therefore, even those who are handicapped mentally, spiritually and materially must make an effort, however small, to begin the process of deliverance.

Once the wheels are set in motion, the individual slowly trains himself to improve his powers of self-reliance. The tiny acorn will one day grow into a mighty oak, but not overnight. Patience is an essential ingredient in this difficult process.

For example, we know from experience how many parents do everything in their power to bring up their children according to the parents' hopes and aspirations. And yet when these children grow up, they develop in their own way, not necessarily the way the parents wanted them to be. In Buddhism, we believe that while others can exert an influence on someone's life, the individual will in the end create his own kamma and be responsible for his own actions. No human being or deva can, in the final analysis, direct or control an individual's attainment of 'the ultimate salvation'. This is the meaning of self-reliance.

This does not mean that Buddhism teaches one to be selfish. In Buddhism, when someone seeks, by his own effort, to attain Nibbana, he is determined not to kill, steal, tell lies, lust after others, or lose the control of his senses through intoxication. When he controls himself thus he automatically contributes to the happiness of others. So is not this so-called 'selfishness' a good thing for the general welfare of others?

On a more mundane level it has been asked how the lower forms of life can extricate themselves from a mere meaningless round of existence. Surely in that helpless state some benevolent external force is necessary to pull the unfortunate being from the quicksand. To answer this question we must refer to our knowledge of the evolution theory. It is clearly stated that life begin in very primitive forms?no more than a single cell floating in the water. 

Over millions of years these basic life forms evolved and became more complex, more intelligent. It is at this more intelligent level that life forms are capable of organization, independent thought, conceptualization and so on.

When Buddhists talk about the ability to save oneself, they are referring to life forms at this higher level of mental development. In the earlier stages of evolution kammic and mental forces remain dormant, but over countless rebirths, a being raises itself to the level of independent thought and becomes capable of rational rather than instinctive behavior. It is at this state that the being becomes aware of the meaninglessness of undergoing endless rebirths with its natural concomitants of pain and sorrow. It is then that the being is capable of making its determination to end rebirth and seek happiness by gaining enlightenment and Nibbana. With this high level of intelligence, the individual is indeed capable of self-improvement and self-development.

We all know human beings are born with very varying levels of intelligence and powers of reasoning. 

Some are born as geniuses, while at the other end of the spectrum, others are born with very low intelligence. Yet every being has some ability to distinguish between choices or options, especially when they concern survival. If we extend this fact of survival even to the animal world we can distinguish between higher and lower animals, with this same ability (in varying degrees of course) to make choices for the sake of survival.

Hence, even a lower form of life has the potential to create a good kamma, however limited its scope. 

With the diligent application of this and the gradual increase of good kamma a being can raise itself to higher levels of existence and understanding.

To look at this problem from another angle, we can consider one of the earliest stories that have been told to show how the Buddha-to-be first made the initial decision to strive for Enlightenment. A great many rebirths before the Buddha was born as Siddharta, he was born as an ordinary man.

One day while traveling in a boat with his mother, a great storm arose and the boat capsized, throwing the occupants into the angry sea. With no thought for his personal safety, the future Buddha carried his mother on his back and struggled to swim to dry land. 

But so great was the expanse of water ahead of him that he did not know the best route to safety. When he was in this dilemma, not knowing which way to turn, his bravery was noticed by one of the devas. This deva could not physically come to his aid, but he was able to make the future Buddha know the best route to take. The young man listened to the deva and both he and his mother were saved. There and then he made a firm determination not to rest until he had finally gained Enlightenment.

This story illustrates the fact that Buddhists can and do seek the help of devas in their daily life. A deva is a being who by virtue of having acquired great merit (like the king of the devas) is born with the power to help other beings. But this power is limited to material and physical things. In our daily existence, we can seek help of the devas (when misfortune strikes, when we need to be comforted, when we are sick or afraid, and so on).

The fact that we seek the aid of these devas means that we are still tied to the material world. We must accept the fact that by being born we are subject to physical desires and needs. And it is not wrong to satisfy these needs on a limited scale. When the Buddha advocated the Middle Path, He said that we should neither indulge ourselves in luxury nor completely deny ourselves the basic necessities of life.

However, we should not stop at that. While we accept the conditions of our birth, we must also make every effort, by following the Noble Eightfold Path, to reach a level of development where we realize that attachment to the material world creates only pain and sorrow.

As we develop our understanding over countless births, we crave less and less for the pleasures of the senses. It is at the stage that we become truly self-reliant. At this stage, the devas cannot help us anymore, because we are not seeking to satisfy our material needs.

A Buddhist who really understands the fleeting nature of the world practises detachment from material goods. He is not unduly attached to worldly goods. Therefore he shares these goods freely with those who are more unfortunate than he is -- he practises generosity. In this way again a Buddhist contributes to the welfare of others.

When the Buddha gained Enlightenment as a result of His own efforts, He did not selfishly keep this knowledge to Himself. Rather, He spent no less than forty five years imparting His knowledge not only to men and women but even to the devas. This is Buddhism's supreme example of selflessness and concern for the well-being of all living things.

It is often said that the Buddha helped devotees who were in trouble not through the performance of miracles such as restoring the dead to life and so on, but through His acts of wisdom and compassion.

In one instance, a woman named Kisa Gotami went to seek the help of the Buddha in restoring her dead child to life. Knowing that He could not reason with her as she was so distressed and overwhelmed with grief, the Buddha told her that she should first obtain a handful of mustard seeds from a person who had never lost a dear one through death. The distracted woman ran from house to house and while everyone was only too willing to give her the mustard seeds, no one could honestly say that he or she had not lost a dear one through death. Slowly, Kisa Gotami came to the realization that death is a natural occurrence to be experienced by any being that is born. Filled with this realization she returned to the Buddha and thanked Him for showing her the truth about death.

Now, the point here is that the Buddha was more concerned with the woman's understanding about the nature of life than giving her temporary relief by restoring her child to life -- the child would have grown old and still have died. With her greater realization Kisa Gotami was able not only to come to terms with the phenomenon of death but also to learn about the cause of sorrow through attachment. She was able to realize that attachment causes sorrow, that when attachment is destroyed, then sorrow is also destroyed.

Therefore in Buddhism, a person can seek the help of external agencies (like devas) in the pursuit of temporal happiness, but in the later stages of development when attachment to the worldly conditions ceases, there begins the path towards renunciation and enlightenment for which one must stand alone. 

When a man seeks to gain liberation, to break away from the endless cycle of birth and death, to gain realization and enlightenment, he can only do this by his own efforts, by his own concentrated will power.

Buddhism gives great dignity to man. It is the only religion which states that a human being has the power to help and free himself. In the later stages of his development, he is not at the mercy of any external force or agency which he must constantly please by worshipping or offering sacrifices.

Faith, Confidence and Devotion

Right understanding points the way to confidence; confidence paves the way to wisdom.

Faith in the theistic sense is not found in Buddhism because of its emphasis on understanding. Theistic faith is a drug for the emotional mind and demands belief in things which cannot be known. Knowledge destroys faith and faith destroys itself when a mysterious belief is examined under the daylight of reason. 

Confidence cannot be obtained by faith since it places less emphasis on reason, but only by understanding.

Referring to the unintelligible and 'blind' nature of faith, Voltaire said, 'Faith is to believe in something which your reason tells you cannot be true; for if your reason approved of it, there could be no question of blind faith.'

Confidence, however, is not the same as faith. For confidence is not a mental acceptance of that which cannot be known. Confidence is an assured expectation, not of an unknown beyond, but of what can be tested as experienced and understood personally. Confidence is like the understanding that a student has in his teacher who explains in the class-room the inverse square law of gravitation as stated by Newton. He should not adopt an unquestioning belief of his teacher and his textbook. He studies the fact, examines the scientific arguments, and makes an assessment of the reliability of the information. If he has doubts, he should reserve his judgment until such time as when he is able to investigate the accuracy of the information for himself. To a Buddhist, confidence is a product of reason, knowledge and experience. 

When it is developed, confidence can never be blind faith. Confidence becomes a power of the mind.

In his book, What The Buddha Taught Walpola Rahula says:

'The question of belief arises when there is no seeing -- seeing in every sense of the word. 

The moment you see, the question of belief disappears. If I tell you that I have a gem hidden in the folded palm of my hand, the question of belief arises because you do not see it yourself. But if I unclench my fist and show you the gem, then you see it for yourself, and the question of belief does not arise. So the phrase in ancient Buddhist texts reads:' Realizing, as one sees a gem(or a myrobalan fruit) in the palm'.'

The Meaning of Prayer 

Nature is impartial; it cannot be flattered by prayers. It does not grant any special favours on request.

Man is not a fallen creature who begs for his needs as he awaits mercy. According to Buddhism, man is a potential master of himself. Only because of his deep ignorance does man fail to realize his full potential. 

Since the Buddha has shown this hidden power, man must cultivate his mind and try to develop it by realizing his innate ability.

Buddhism gives full responsibility and dignity to man. It makes man his own master. 

According to Buddhism, no higher being sits in judgment over his affairs and destiny. That is to say, our life, our society, our world, is what you and I want to make out of it, and not what some other unknown being wants it to be.

Remember that nature is impartial; it cannot be flattered by prayers. Nature does not grant any special favours on request. Thus in Buddhism, prayer is meditation which has self-change as its object. Prayer in meditation is the reconditioning of one's nature. It is the transforming of one's inner nature accomplished by the purification of the three faculties?thought, word, and deed. Through meditation, we can understand that 'we become what we think', in accordance with the discoveries of psychology. When we pray, we experience some relief in our minds; that is, the psychological effect that we have created through our faith and devotion. After reciting certain verses we also experience the same result. Religious names or symbols are important to the extent that they help to develop devotion and confidence.

The Buddha Himself has clearly expressed that neither the recital of holy scriptures, nor self-torture, nor sleeping on the ground, nor the repetition of prayers, penance, hymns, charms, mantras, incantations and invocations can bring the real happiness of Nibbana.

Regarding the use of prayers for attaining the final goal, the Buddha once made an analogy of a man who wants to cross a river. If he sits down and prays imploring that the far bank of the river will come to him and carry him across, then his prayer will not be answered. If he really wants to cross the river, he must makes some effort; he must find some logs and build a raft, or look for a bridge or construct a boat or perhaps swim. Somehow he must work to get across the river. Likewise, if he wants to cross the river of Samsara, prayers alone are not enough. He must work hard by living a religious life, by controlling his passion, calming his mind, and by getting rid of all the impurities and defilements in his mind. Only then can he reach the final goal. Prayer alone will never take him to the final goal.

If prayer is necessary, it should be to strengthen the mind and not to beg for gains. The following prayer of a well-known poet, teaches us how to pray, Buddhists will regard this as meditation to cultivate the mind:

'Let me not pray to be sheltered from danger, 

but to be fearless in facing them. 

Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, 

but for the heart to conquer it. 

Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved, 

but for the patience to win my freedom.'

26 August 2023

Copied 

Photo credit. To the owner who posted it.

What Buddhists Believe Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera

What Buddhists Believe
Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera

Man is Responsible for Everything 

When a man has learned how to live as a real human being without disturbing others, he can live peacefully without any fear in his heart.

According to the Buddha, man himself is the maker of his own destiny. He has none to blame for his lot since he alone is responsible for his own life. He makes his own life for better or for worse.

The Buddha says: man creates everything. All our griefs, perils and misfortunes are of our own creation. We spring from no other source than our own imperfection of heart and mind. 

We are the results of our good and bad actions committed in the past under the influence of greed and delusion. And since we ourselves brought them into being, it is within our power to overcome bad effects and cultivate good natures.

The human mind, like that of an animal, is something governed by animal instinct. But unlike the animal mind, the human mind can be trained for higher values. If man's mind is not properly cultured, that uncultured mind creates a great deal of trouble in this world. 

Sometimes man's behavior is more harmful and more dangerous than animal behavior. 

Animals have no religious problems, no language problems, no political problems, no social and ethical problems, no colour-bar problems. They fight only for their food, shelter and sex. But, there are thousand of problems created by mankind. Their behavior is such that they would not be able to solve any of these problems without creating further problems. 

Man is reluctant to admit his weaknesses. He is not willing to shoulder his responsibilities. 

His attitude is always to blame others for his failure. If we become more responsible in our actions, we can maintain peace and happiness.

Man is his own jailor

Is there any truth in man'sclaim that he should be given freedom to do things as he likes?

When we consider human freedom, it is very difficult to find out whether man is really free to do anything according to his own wishes. Man is bound by many conditions both external and internal; he is asked to obey the laws that are imposed on him by the government; he is bound to follow certain religious principles; he is required to co-operate with the moral and social conditions of the society in which he lives; he is compelled to follow certain national and family customs and traditions. In modern society, he in inclined to disagree with life; he is expected to conform by adapting himself to the modern way of life. he is bound to co-operate with natural laws and cosmic energy, because he is also part of the same energy. 

He is subjected to the weather and climatic conditions of the region. Not only does he have to pay attention to his life or to physical elements, but he has also to make up his mind to control his own emotions. In other words, he has no freedom to think freely because he is overwhelmed by new thoughts which may contradict or do away with his previous thoughts and convictions. At the same time, he may believe that he has to obey and work according to the will of god, and not follow his own free-will.

Taking into consideration all the above changing conditions to which man is bound, we can ask 'Is there any truth in man's claim that he should be given freedom to do things as he likes?'

Why does man have his hands tied so firmly? The reason is that there are various bad elements within man. These elements are dangerous and harmful to all living creatures. For the past few thousand years, all religions have been trying to tame this unreliable attitude of man and to teach him how to live a noble life. But it is most unfortunate that man is still not ready to be trustworthy, however good he may appear to be.

Man still continues to harbor all these evil elements within himself. These evil elements are not introduced or influenced by external sources but are created by man himself. If these evil forces are man-made, then man himself must work hard to get rid of them after realizing their danger. Unfortunately the majority of men are cruel, cunning, wicked, ungrateful, unreliable, unscrupulous. If man is allowed to live according to his own free-will without moderation and restraint, he would most definitely violate the peace and happiness of innocent people. His behavior would probably be much worse than that of dangerous living beings. Religion is required to train him to lead a respectable life and to gain peace and happiness here and hereafter.

Another obstacle confronting religious life and spiritual progress is racial arrogance. The Buddha advised His followers not to bring forward any racial issue when they come to practise religion. Buddhists are taught to sink their own racial origin and caste or class distinction. People of all religions should not discriminate against any groups of people by bringing forward their personal traditional way of life. They should treat everyone equally, especially in the religious field. Unfortunately, followers of different religions create more discriminations and hostility towards other religious groups when performing their religious activities.

While working others, they should not disturb their feelings because of their so-called traditions and customs. They can follow traditions and customs that are in keeping with the religious principles and moral codes of their religions.

Racial arrogance is a great hindrance to religion and spiritual progress. The Buddha once used the simile of ocean water to illustrate the harmony which can be experienced by people who have learnt to cast aside their racial arrogance: Different rivers have different names. The water of the individual rivers all flow into the ocean and become ocean water. In a similar manner, all those who have come from different communities and different castes, must forget their differences and think of themselves only as human beings.

You Protect Yourself

'Protecting oneself one protects others' 

'Protecting others one protects oneself.'

Once the Blessed One told His monks the following story:

'There was once a pair of jugglers who did their acrobatic feats on a bamboo pole. One day the master said to his apprentice: 'Now get on my shoulders and climb up the bamboo pole.' When the apprentice had done so, the master said: 'Now protect me well and I shall protect you. By watching each other in that way, we shall be able to show our skill, we shall make a good profit and you can get down safely from the bamboo pole.' But the apprentice said: 'Not so, master. You! O Master, should protect yourself, and I too shall protect myself. 

Thus self-protected and self-guarded we shall safely do our feats."

'This is the right way,' said the Blessed One and spoke further as follows:

'It is just as the apprentice said: 'I shall protect myself,' in that way the Foundation of Mindfulness should be practised. 'I shall protect others,' in that way the Foundation of Mindfulness should be practised. 

Protecting oneself one protects others; protecting others one protects oneself.

'And how does one, in protecting oneself, protect others? By the repeated and frequent practice of meditation.

'And how does one, by protecting others, protect oneself? By patience and forbearance, by a non-violent and harmless life, by loving kindness and compassion.' (Satipatthana, Samyutta, No:19)

'Protecting oneself one protects others' 

'Protecting others one protects oneself'

These two sentences supplement each other and should not be taken (or quoted) separately.

Nowadays, when social service is so greatly stressed, people may for instance, be tempted to quote, in support of their ideas, only the second sentence. But any such one-sided quotation would misrepresent the Buddha's statement. It has to be remembered that, in our story the Buddha expressly approved the words of the apprentice, which is that one has first to carefully watch one's own steps if one wishes to protect others from harm. He who is sunk in the mire himself cannot help others out of it. In that sense, self-protection is not selfish protection. It is the cultivation of self-control, and ethical and spiritual self-development.

Protecting oneself one protects others?the truth of this statement begins at a very simple and practical level. At the material level, this truth is so self-evident that we need not say more than a few words about it. It is obvious that the protection of our own health will go far in protecting the health of our closer or wider environment, especially where contagious diseases are concerned. Caution and circumspection in all our doings and movements will protect others from harm that may come to them through our carelessness and negligence. 

By careful driving, abstention from alcohol, by self-restraint in situations that might lead to violence?in all these and many other ways we shall protect others by protecting ourselves.

We come now to the ethical level of that truth. Moral self-protection will safeguard others, individual and society, against our own unrestrained passions and selfish impulses. If we permit the Three Roots of everything evil, Greed, Hate and Delusion, to take a firm hold in our hearts, then that which grows from those evil roots will spread around like the jungle creeper which suffocates and kills the healthy and noble growth. But if we protect ourselves against these Three Roots of Evil, fellow beings too will be safe from our reckless greed for possession and power, from our unrestrained lust and sensuality, from our envy and jealousy. They will be safe from the disruptive, or even destructive and murderous, consequences of our hate and enmity, from the outburst of our anger, from our spreading an atmosphere of antagonism and quarrelsomeness which may make life unbearable for those around us. But the harmful effects of our greed and hate on others are not limited to cases when they become the passive objects or victims of our hate, or their possession the object of our greed. Greed and hate have an infectious power, which can multiply the evil effects. If we ourselves think of nothing else than to crave and grasp, to acquire and possess, to hold and cling, then we may rouse or strengthen these possessive instincts in others too. Our bad example may become the standard of behavior of our environment for instance among our own children, our colleagues, and so on. Our own conduct may induce others to join us in the common satisfaction of rapacious desires; or we may arouse feelings of resentment and competitiveness in others who wish to beat us in the race. If we are full of sensuality we may kindle the fire of lust in others. Our own hate may cause the hate and vengeance of others. It may also happen that we ally ourselves with others or instigate them to common acts of hate and enmity.

25 August 2023

Copied 

Photo credit. To the owner who posted it.

THE MENACE OF DRUG ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM ~ by Ven Dr K Sri Dhammananda

THE MENACE OF DRUG ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM
~ by Ven Dr K Sri Dhammananda

Alcohol has been described as one of the prime causes of man's physical and moral degradation. 

Currently, another more vicious form of abuse, that of harmful and dangerous drugs, especially heroin, has created a much more serious human and social problem. This problem is now world wide. The repercussions of drug abuse are more serious and deadly than those of alcohol. Theft, robbery, sex-related crimes and swindling of vast sums of money have occured under the pernicious influence of drug abuse.

Drug lords, not being content as death mrechants have even tried to control weak governments through corruption, bribery, subversion and bombings. As a matter of public policy, governments have to protect their citizens against drug abuse. Yet, drug lords in their devilish schemes have threatened the very foundation of society human dignity. 

Spokesmen of conscience and their families constantly run the risk of death because they dare to cross the lawless path of drug lords.

Without international co-operation to stamp out this evil, the vitality and the future of many nations will be bleak indeed. Worldwide, countless millions of hard-earned dollars have been spent to rid the addicts of their evil habits but the maddening craze persists. It is our duty to help in whatever manner we can, to eradicate this dreadful habit and to prevent our children from ever getting near it.

Life as a drug addict or an alcoholic is a life of torture and hell on earth, leading one to an early grave.

29 July 2023

RETURNING GOOD FOR EVIL ~ Ven Dr K Sri Dhammananda

RETURNING GOOD FOR EVIL
~ Ven Dr K Sri Dhammananda

If you want to be rid of your enemies, you must first kill the greatest enemy within you - your anger. If you are to be perturbed by distractions from your enemies, it means you are fulfilling the wishes of your enemies by unknowingly entering their trap.

You should not think that you can only learn from those who praise you, help you, and associate with you very closely. You could learn many things from your enemies. You should not think they are entirely wrong just because they happen to be your enemies. They may also possess certain good qualities.

You cannot get rid of your enemies by returning evil for evil; that will only be inviting more enemies. The best method to counter your enemies is to radiate your compassionate love towards them. You may think that this is impossible or something nonsensical. But this is the proven way of every cultured man. When you come to know that there is someone who is very angry with you, you should first try to find out the main cause. If it is due to your mistake, you should admit it and not hesitate to apologise to him. If it is due to certain misunderstandings between you both, you must enlighten him with a heart to heart talk.

If it is due to jealousy, try radiating your compassionate love. You could influence him by your mental vibrations. You may not be able to understand how it works but the experience of many people has shown that it is the most powerful, intelligent and easy method to win friends. It is highly recommended in Buddhism. Of course, to do this, you must have confidence and patience in yourself. By doing this, you will be able to make your enemy understand that he is in the wrong. Besides, you are also benefited in various ways for not accommodating enmity in your heart.

30 May 3023

The Buddhist Concept of Heaven and Hell ==

WHAT BUDDHISTS BELIEVE

The Buddhist Concept of Heaven and Hell == 
Ven. DR K Sri Dhammananda

The wise man makes his own heaven while the foolish man creates his own hell here and hereafter.

The Buddhist concept of heaven and hell is entirely different from that in other religions. Buddhists do not accept that these places are eternal. It is unreasonable to condemn a man to eternal hell for his human weakness but quite reasonable to give him every chance to develop himself. From the Buddhist point of view, those who go to hell can work themselves upward by making use of the merit that they had acquired previously. There are no locks on the gates of hell. Hell is a temporary place and there is no reason for those beings to suffer there forever. 

The Buddha's Teaching shows us that there are heavens and hells not only beyond this world, but in this very world itself. Thus the Buddhist conception of heaven and hell is very reasonable. For instance, the Buddha once said, 'When the average ignorant person makes an assertion to the effect that there is a Hell (patala) under the ocean he is making a statement which is false and without basis. The word 'Hell' is a term for painful sensations. 'The idea of one particular ready-made place or a place created by god as heaven and hell is not acceptable to the Buddhist concept. 

The fire of hell in this world is hotter than that of the hell in the world-beyond. There is no fire equal to anger, lust or greed and ignorance. 

According to the Buddha, we are burning from eleven kinds of physical pain and mental agony: lust, hatred, illusion sickness, decay, death, worry, lamentation, pain(physical and mental), melancholy and grief. 

People can burn the entire world with some of these fires of mental discord. From a Buddhist point of view, the easiest way to define hell and heaven is that where ever there is more suffering, either in this world or any other plane, that place is a hell to those who suffer. And where there is more pleasure or happiness, either in this world or any other worldly existence, that place is a heaven to those who enjoy their worldly life in that particular place. However, as the human realm is a mixture of both pain and happiness, human beings experience both pain and happiness and will be able to realize the real nature of life. 

But in many other planes of existence inhabitants have less chance for this realization. In certain places there is more suffering than pleasure while in some other places there is more pleasure than suffering. 

Buddhists believe that after death rebirth can take place in any one of a number of possible existences. This future existence is conditioned by the last thought-moment a person experiences at the point of death. This last thought which determines the next existence results from the past actions of a man either in this life or before that. Hence, if the predominant thought reflects meritorious action, then he will find his future existence in a happy state. But that state is temporary and when it is exhausted a new life must begin all over again, determined by another dominating 'kammic' energy. 

This repetitious process goes on endlessly unless one arrives at 'Right View' and makes a firm resolve to follow the Noble Path which produces the ultimate happiness of Nibbana.

Heaven is a temporary place where those who have done good deeds experience more sensual pleasures for a longer period. Hell is another temporary place where those evil doers experience more physical and mental suffering. 

It is not justifiable to believe that such places are permanent. There is no god behind the scene of heaven and hell. Each and every person experiences according to his good and bad kamma. 

Buddhist never try to introduce Buddhism by frightening people through hell-fire or enticing people by pointing to paradise. Their main idea is character building and mental training. Buddhists can practise their religion without aiming at heaven or without developing fear of hell. Their duty is to lead righteous lives by upholding humane qualities and peace of mind.

Human Life and Problems Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda WORRIES

Human Life and Problems
Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda

WORRIES

People concentrate more on pleasure rather than on their peace and health. Some people worry by considering their future although they have more than enough at the moment. 

They worry about their sicknesses, old-age, death, funerals and also about heaven and hell or the next birth. 

Everyday they experience uncertainty in their lives. They run around searching for a remedy to end their problems. 

They worry when they are getting old. They worry when they cannot gain what they want. They worry when they lose their belongings or persons they love. After that, they create frustration, anguish, mental agony and suffer from mental disturbance and later these turn into physical ailments. 

Throughout their lives, they continue this search for peace and happiness until they die without finding the real solution.

Not knowing the real nature of life, we try to maintain it without experiencing any disappointments and changes. 

But life is changeable. It is a bundle of elements and energies which are always changing and the situation is always not to our satisfaction. 

Sometimes we feel life is not in our favour. When the elements and energies are imbalanced, we experience uneasiness, sickness, pain and many other problems. When mental energy is disturbed, we experience mental problems. 

After that our organs and glands also change their normal functions and affect the blood circulation, hormones, heart and brain cells.

We can avoid many of these problems if we can understand this conflict in our body and lead a natural life in harmony with natural forces which make up our physical existence.

Human Life and Problems ~ Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda

 Human Life and Problems
~ Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda

MENTAL IMBALANCE

Mental imbalance which we regard as madness is another big problem. By violating an ethical way of life, man disturbs his own peace and happiness and that of others. 

Then by bringing external incidents into the mind more miseries, excitement, fear and insecurity are created.

Many people have to suffer from frustrations and nervous breakdowns because they have not trained their minds to maintain contentment. They have developed only craving for sensual pleasures. To them development means development of craving.

As a result, they also develop unhealthy competition and violence. That is how they have turned the whole world into a chaotic situation. After that, everyone cries for peace. 

People accuse god or the devil of putting them in misery. 

They do pray and worship to escape from the problems which they themselves created.

We can understand now who actually creates problems and who can overcome them. The Buddha says the world is within you. When you discipline yourself, the whole world is disciplined and peace is maintained. It is not necessary to beg for peace from others. 

Good and bad, peace and violence, all exist because of the trained and untrained mind.

WHAT BUDDHISTS BELIEVE💠 *Misconceptions on Religion*

WHAT BUDDHISTS BELIEVE💠

Misconceptions on Religion

Despite the value of religion in moral upliftment, it is also true to say that religion is a fertile soil for the development of superstitions and devotional hypocrisy, wrapped under the cloak of religiosity. Many people use religion to escape from the realities of life and put on the garb of religion and religious symbols. They may even pray very often in places of worship, yet they are not sincerely religious minded and have not understood what religion stands for. When a religion has been debased by ignorance, greed for power and selfishness, people quickly point an accusing finger and say that religion is irrational. 

But 'Religion' (the ritualistic external practice of any teaching) must be distinguished from the teaching itself. Before one criticizes, one must study the original teachings of the founder and see it there is anything intrinsically wrong with it. 

Religion advise people to do good and be good, but they are not interested in acting thus. Instead they prefer to cling to the other practices which have no real religious values. Had they tried to culture their minds by eradicating jealousy, pride, cruelty and selfishness, at least they would have found the correct way to practise a religion. Unfortunately, they develop jealousy, pride, cruelty and selfishness instead of eradicating them. Many people pretend to be religious, but commit the greatest atrocities in the name of religion. They fight, discriminate and create unrest for the sake of religion, losing sight of its lofty purpose. From the increase in the performance of various so-called religious activities, we may get the impression that religion is progressing, but the opposite is really the case since very little mental purity and understanding are actually being practised. 

Practising a religion is nothing than the development of one's inner awareness, goodwill and understanding. Problems would have to be faced squarely by relying on one's spiritual strength. Running away from one's problems in the name of spiritualism is not courageous, much less to be regarded as spiritual. Under today's chaotic conditions, men and women are rapidly sliding downhill to their own destruction. They irony is that they imagine they are progressing towards a glorious civilization that is yet to be realized. 

In the midst of this confusion, imaginary and plastic religious concepts are propagated to create more temptation and confusion in man's mind. 

Religion is being misused for personal gain and power. 

Certain immoral practices, such as free sex, have been encouraged by some irresponsible religious groups to introduce their religion among youths. By arousing lustful feelings, these groups hope to seduce boys and girls into following their religion. 

Today religion has degenerated into a cheap commodity in the religious market giving scant regard to moral values and what they stand for. Some missionaries claim that the practice of morals, ethics and precepts are not important as long as a person has faith and prays to God, which is believed to be sufficient to grant him salvation. Having witnessed how some religious authorities have misled and blindfolded their followers in Europe, Karl Marx made a caustic remark: 'Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the feelings of a heartless world, just as it is the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.' 

Man needs a religion not for the reason of giving him a dream for his next life or providing him with some dogmatic ideas to follow, in such a way that he surrenders his human intelligence and becomes a nuisance to his fellow beings. A religion should be a reliable and reasonable method for people to live 'here and now' as cultured, understanding beings, while setting a good example for others to follow. Many religions turn man's thoughts away from himself towards a supreme being, but Buddhism directs man's search for peace inward to the potentialities that lie hidden within himself.

'Dhamma' (meaning, to hold on) is not something a person searches outside himself, because in the final analysis, man is Dhamma and Dhamma is man. Therefore, true religion, which is Dhamma, is not something outside us that we acquire, but the cultivation and realization of wisdom, compassion and purity that we develop within ourselves.

~ Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda

Human Life and Problems Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda FACING REALITIES

Human Life and Problems

Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda

FACING REALITIES

Today many people lead an artificial life not knowing its danger. Many of our problems are created by us due to our crazy attitude caused by temptation.

Simplicity makes life run smoothly. Many of us realise and experience them only when we grow old.

For example, let us assume there is a pit about 100 feet deep and we put burning charcoal at the bottom. We then lower a ladder into it and ask people to go down one by one. Those who start to go down do not complain about the heat until they go further down to a depth of 30 to 40 feet. After 40 to 50 feet, they feel a certain amount of heat. 

When they go still further down to 70 or 80 feet and reach nearer to the burning charcoal, they will experience the sensation of burning. In the same manner, young people do not experience suffering although the Buddha says life is one of suffering. 

But it is a good analogy to explain that as we gain more experience we see the truth about suffering more clearly. 

The real meaning of suffering is experiencing unsatisfactoriness in everything.

Human Life and Problems Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS

Human Life and Problems
Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda

SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS

Whenever we have problems, we approach others, and seek their advice. They may advise us to go and pray to certain gods in a temple or other places of worship or to recite certain mantras and to perform some rites and rituals.

But the Buddha's advice is entirely different. He never advises anyone to do anything without investigating the problems and analysing them to discover where the main cause of the problem is. The trouble with us is, whenever we face any problem, we suffer from fear due to ignorance and we create for ourselves unfounded fear, imagination and suspicion. After that we seek advice from others in order to get rid of them.

For example, when people face failure in their business they try to use magical power to gain good luck and success in their business. But they do not try to find out where the mistake or the weak point is and do not realise that many such practices are also based on superstitious beliefs. Some of these so-called 'seers' or astrologers exploit the ignorance of innocent people and make them believe that 'evil forces' are behind their bad luck.

The Buddha advised us to develop patience and understanding, without depending on superstitious beliefs, and to develop the rational way of life without wasting time and money on meaningless practices and also to use our own effort to overcome them in a reasonable way. Usually we cannot understand the causes of many of our problems because our way of thinking is clouded by suspicion and illusion. It is due to a lack of proper understanding that we give the wrong reasons for our problems and seek the wrong means to overcome them. We pray, we make offerings and vows by thinking that our misery is due to the working of an external force. Actually, most of our problems and worries are created by ourselves.

We do not strive to develop a correct way of life through moral and spiritual development. We think that religion is only for us to pray or perform certain rituals to get rid of our problems. If we maintain such beliefs, how can we concentrate on enriching our knowledge and understand things in their proper perspective?

The tree of civilization has its roots in moral values which most of us do not realize. Without these roots the leaves would have fallen and leave the tree a lifeless stump.

Today, we have developed our worldly life in such a way that we have no time to devote for self-discipline or to cultivate inner peace. Although we may have more than enough to satisfy our material needs like food, shelter and clothing, all the while we go on thinking of how to make more money and how to enjoy life in a worldly way even at the cost of others' rights. When we come across certain problems, we start to grumble, show our temper and create more disturbances not knowing that it is impossible to overcome our problems by adopting such an attitude.

HOW SHOULD WE CHANT SUTTRAS ?

HOW SHOULD WE CHANT SUTTRAS ?

By : Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda Nayaka Maha Thera.

Paritta Chanting is the recital of some of the Suttras uttered by the Buddha in the Pali Language for the blessings and protection of the devotees. It is a well known Buddhist practice conducted all over the world especially in Theravada Buddhist countries where the Pali Language is used for recitals.

You recite these particular discourses of the Buddha with faith and confidence. Simply by reciting, you will get some sort of blessings. We recite these Suttras to bless you. You get the blessing if you develop

devotion and confidence in your mind.

But that blessing is just like taking two Panadols when you have a headache.

After a few hours, you get back the headache. That's the nature of this kind of blessing. 

Just to calm your mind, to reduce fear from your mind and develop some sort of confidence in your mind. At the primary and initial stage this blessing is very important. However, you must evolve to the next level.

You must understand the main purpose of all these discourses or Suttras.

The Buddha did not introduce them just for recital. Just to recite without doing anything, certainly not. It is like this. 

When you are sick you go to a Doctor or a Sinseh (Chinese doctor). He gives you a prescription the names of so many medicines.You return home and go on reciting the names of all these medicines, thinking you can cure your sicknesses without buying the medicine, without consuming the medicine.You just recite every day the names of the medicine.

Just reciting the Suttras is just like that - you are merely reciting the medicine for our mental defilements (sickness) without curing it.There are some things for us to do, to cultivate, to develop, to eradicate, to improve.

These Suttras are known to many, but they have not realized that the suttras are not just for chanting. Here we can understand how the Buddha has started the Buddhist way of life at home, then went on developing

and developing till the attainment of Nirvana, not running away from our problems.

Let us take one example; the Mangala Suttra. Mangala means blessing or auspicious. 

A Deva (deity) came to the Buddha and asked this question.

"People have different opinions of blessings. Can you please tell us what are the real blessings?". Then the Buddha starts to preach this Mangala Suttra and explain what are the true or highest blessings.

These 38 blessings in the Suttra are not for you to just recite but to also practise.

Then you get the blessings, the real blessings, the real protection from the Suttra.

Recite these Suttras with devotion and confidence to invoke the power of Truth of the Buddha's words. 

Understand its meaning and put it to practice.

You then are able to build a strong protection and shield against various forms of evil, misfortunes, sicknesses and influence of the planetary systems while instilling confidence in your mind to achieve the FINAL LIBERATION.

🌻

#dhamma #chanting

WHAT BUDDHISTS BELIEVE

WHAT BUDDHISTS BELIEVE

==Short-cut to Paradise ==

Paradise is open not only to the followers of a particular religion, but it is open to each and every person who leads a righteous and noble way of life.

There is no difficulty at all for Buddhists to go to heaven if they really want to. But there are some people who go from house to house trying to convert other religionists into their faith and promising them the heaven they carry in their bags. They claim that they are the only blessed people who can go to heaven; they also claim that they have the exclusive authority to send others to the same goal. They introduce their religion like a patent medicine and this has become a nuisance to the public today. Many innocent people who lack the knowledge of their own religion, have become victims of these paradise sellers.

If Buddhists can understand the value of the Noble Teachings of the Buddha, they will not be misled by such people. These paradise sellers are also trying to mislead the people by saying that this world which is created by god, is going to end very soon. Those who want to have a wonderful everlasting life in heaven must accept their particular religion before the end of the world comes, otherwise people would miss this golden opportunity and would have to suffer in eternal hell.

We note with a smile how many red faces there were among these people who proclaimed loudly that the world would come to an end on 31st December 1999. only to wake up very much alive to celebrate the beginning of the year 2000. But they will go around saying that they have misread their Holy Book and that the world will surely end in the following century.

This threat of the end of the world, had been going on for hundreds of years. The wonder of it all is that there are still people today who believe in such a treat which is irrational and imaginary. Some people get converted after hearing such preaching, without using their common sense.

In Buddhism, there is no personal judge either to condemn or to reward but only the working of an impersonal moral causation and natural law.

Why wicked people enjoy while good people suffer

Some people ask, 'If good begets good and bad begets bad why should many good people suffer and some wicked people prosper in this world? ' The answer to this question, according to the Buddhist point of view, is that although some are good by nature, they have not accumulated enough good merits in their previous birth to compensate for the bad effects of unwholesome kamma in this present life; somewhere in their past there must have been some defect. On the other hand, some are wicked by nature and yet are able to enjoy this life for a short period of due to some strong good kamma that they accumulated in their previous birth. For example, there are certain people who by nature have inherited a strong constitution and as a result enjoy perfect health. Their physical power of resistance is strong and hence they are not prone to illnesses. Although they do not take special precautions to lead a hygienic life, they are able to remain strong and healthy. On the other hand, there are others who take various tonics and vitamin?enriched foods to fortify themselves, but in spite of their efforts to become strong and healthy, their health do not show any improvement. Whatever good and bad deeds people commit within this life-time, they will definitely experience the reaction within this life or hereafter. It is impossible to escape from their results simply by praying, but by cultivating the mind and leading a noble life.
Buddhists are encouraged to do good deeds not for the sake of gaining a place in heaven. They are expected to do good in order to eradicate their selfishness and to experience peace and happiness.

A popular book on Buddhism by Venerable Dr. K Sri Dhammananda --
"What Buddhist Believe"
Links:
http://goo.gl/iiQYyI